It has been a month since Class XII results were declared, and around 4,532 government school students who cleared the exams have not applied for higher education across the state, the Education Management Information System (EMIS) portal has revealed.
Around 3,23,466 students from government schools wrote the exam and 2,95,534 cleared it, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Sources said, "As soon as the results were declared, the state government instructed district collectors to ensure that all the passed students enrolled for higher education with the help of district chief educational officers. Headmasters were asked to check whether the students joined higher education institutions, and to update the status in the EMIS portal. This work is continuing at schools and headmasters are taking steps to enrol them in higher studies."
A headmaster from a government higher secondary school in Coimbatore told The New Indian Express, "Teachers who are school coordinators on Naan Mudhalvan scheme explained to students the importance of higher education during the career guidance programme. Around 122 students who were given awareness, applied for higher education. Just three girl students did not apply as of May 20. When teachers inquired about it, they said they could not go for further studies due to either financial issues. The teachers told them about the Pudhumai Penn scheme and and helped them apply in government arts colleges."
What does the data say?
According to EMIS data accessed by The New Indian Express, as of June 5, out of 2,95,534 students, 4,532 are yet to apply for higher studies. The maximum number of students is 439 from Dharmapuri.
There are less than 50 students in 13 districts including Chennai, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tiruchy, and others.
In Nilgiris, the school education department has ensured all students in applying for the er students. CEO R Geetha told The New Indian Express, "At the beginning of the academic year, teachers provided awareness to students and parents on the importance of higher education. Though some parents were hesitant to send their girl children for higher studies, each teacher adopted ten students. As a result, all the 1,809 students applied for higher studies. Most of the students have applied for different courses at government and private arts and science colleges. It is a big achievement."
She further said that they are giving extra attention to help the 115 students who failed the exams to clear the supplementary exams.
B Chitra, parent of a female student who studied at Thuneri government school, Nilgiris told The New Indian Express, "Teachers kept explaining to students and parents the courses that can be taken up for higher studies. My daughter who scored 453 marks in her Class XII exams has chosen to study BSc in Cardiac Technology at a private college in Coimbatore."
Students yet to apply for colleges:
439 - Dharmapuri
377 - Ranipet
355 - Thanjavur
314 - Villupuram
290 - Tiruppur
230 - Tiruvarur
227 - Erode
222 - Namakkal
158 - Coimbatore
Source: EMIS portal, dated June 5
